Water pools near the curb, already splashing onto the sidewalk with every passing car. Squinting behind my rain-streaked glasses, I spot a bus leaving. Pedro’s probably on it! I wave my arms above my head for it to stop, but the bus doesn’t slow down. The wheels hit the flooded spots on the road, sending a wave of dirty water at me as it passes.

I didn’t know I could get even more drenched than I already was. Ankle deep in water, I chase after the bus, shouting, “STOP! PLEASE!”

But it’s long gone.

My eyes are hot with tears and my forehead feels like it’s burning up. Everything spins. The trees. The houses. The flooded road. I crouch down, my head in my hands.

I blew it. It doesn’t matter how many times I run after Pedro to apologize. If he doesn’t want me around him, there’s nothing I can do...

I don’t know how long I stay like this. But eventually I realize the rain’s stopped. I still see thick drops hitting the road, but they’re not landing on me. Like I’m in a protective bubble. Like—

Pedro stands holding his jacket above my head like a makeshift umbrella.

I jerk to my feet. “I thought you left...” I say.

“I’m still here.”

A dull ache spreads in my chest. “I’m sorry. I made a horrible, horrible mistake hiding things from you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life apologizing if necessary, but—please, I’m not going back to the feud. I refuse to do that.”

He stares at me, cautious, like he’s trying to figure me out. “I don’t want to lose Sugar,” he says, letting his guard down a little. “I know that my grandfather, for his own health, needs to step down. But I want to show him that he can trust me to fight for it.” I see the look in Pedro’s eyes, the pain from needing his grandfather’s approval. “And I will not fail. The cooking contest is my only hope. Are we still going to compete together?”

I fight back the tears welling in my eyes. “If you want,” I say. “It’s my only hope to keep Salt, too.”

“How do I know I can trust you’ll be there on Thursday?” he asks.

I bore my gaze into his, willing him to see the truth in my eyes. “I’ll be there.”

We’re silent for a while, listening to the rain hitting his jacket above us.

I feel the old abyss widening between us, and I’m terrified things will go back to how they were.

“I hate this,” I say. “What will happen to us when the contest is over? The feud goes back to how it was?”